Bakelite Pipe Stems

Yep, no alcohol on Bakelite. I just use non bleach dish soap, pipe cleaners and a soft cloth.

No oil necessary. I just clean the surface with a soft cloth after smoking. It won't oxidize in terms like vulcanite, but will darken over many years.

I cannot prove this, but I suspect that what is sold as "Bakelite" is really another type of thermo-forming plastic material. Once Bakelite is shaped by the manufacturer, and cured, it cannot be reshaped or remolded by heating. I could be in error, but I don't think so.
Working with Bakelite can be very difficult. It snaps, easily chips, scratches, cannot be over-flexed, and cannot be bent-to-shape by reheating into all those specialized shapes that are required when fashioning rods and flats into a conventional, pipe stem. True, it can be cut, shaped, and polished, like any other plastic stem material, however, if you lathe-turn a straight rod and then drill it for a draft hole, you'll not be able to heat and bend it into the shape of a pipe stem. It doesn't get soft. It just scorches, and then burns. Smell burnt Bakelite once, and you'll never forget it.
I suspect that if the stem on that pipe in the photo is indeed, Bakelite, it started as a molded stem with that shape, and the draft-hole also had to be molded into that stem. Bakelite cannot be worked, shaped, and then bent, like Vulcanite and acrylics. It can also oxidize over time into unexpected, dull, colors.
Easy way to tell if you have a Bakelite stem....remove the stem from the pipe, heat a needle/pin red-hot, and stick it into the tenon. If the tip of the hot needle melts and enters into the plastic material, it ain't Bakelite....(this test will NOT work with a Delrin tenon). Bakelite also smells like a burnt, electronic circuit-board. It stinks to high heaven! Smells like the burnt handle of an old-fashioned coffee pot.
BTW...I don't think Bakelite is even manufactured anymore. It had its day in the 1920-'40s. Most of the Bakelite that's offered for sale today, is probably surplus, vintage, old stock.

"BTW...I don't think Bakelite is even manufactured anymore."
I would concur. There are so many alternatives these days with all kinds of plastics with properties that Bakelite does not have, there is no market for it anymore.
Also, Bakelite was made with formaldehyde which is highly toxic!
Regards,
Jay.
Edit: I stand corrected...from Wikipedia...
"Bakelite continues to be used for wire insulation, brake pads and related automotive components, and industrial electrical-related applications. Bakelite stock is still manufactured and produced in sheet, rod and tube form for industrial applications in the electronics, power generation and aerospace industries, and under a variety of commercial brand names."

I cannot prove this, but I suspect that what is sold as "Bakelite" is really another type of thermo-forming plastic material. Once Bakelite is shaped by the manufacturer, and cured, it cannot be reshaped or remolded by heating. I could be in error, but I don't think so.

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Nope, when you see a pipe by an artisan maker, it is bakelite. A lot of guys are buying up old stock that's the real deal...and it's tricky to shape, but can certainly be bent- here's an example of one of Todd Johnson's pipes from Smoking Pipes-

I suspect that if the stem on that pipe in the photo is indeed, Bakelite, it started as a molded stem with that shape, and the draft-hole also had to be molded into that stem

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Nope, that piece was made by Bruce Weaver, and was hand cut from a piece of Bakelite rod stock dating back to the 1920's. The white center is a piece of vintage ivory. Saw the stem made, and indeed smelled like an electrical fire when heated and sanded.

zack24/chasingembers....
Very interesting and I stand corrected. Everything I have read regarding Bakelite say it cannot be reheated to change the shape. But, here's living proof that I was wrong. It's sStill a bitch to work with, and stinks like hell when heated. Formaldehyde fumes can't be a good thing to breathe.
I wish I knew how these guys heated their stems for bending. Maybe heat guns? I can get my hands on some various diameter rods of vintage Bakelite, and I'd love to know how to manipulate it for making some pipe stems.
Thanks for the surprising information.
Frank

Well, I am from Missouri. U gotta show me someone bending bakelite. It is very brittle. I really don't think it can be bent. Shaped, yes, sanding, cutting, etc. Anyway, interesting for sure.

And, yes, as said above it is still made. I have a large block of linen micarta (linen and bakelite material laminated and formed/baked) It is neat stuff. Not easy to work, but now I do need to find it. Might make some interesting stems from that stuff. Straight of course. 8O

My question is why Bakelite? Thanks to it's fragility we do not have the recording of Buddy Bolden made on an Edison Bakelite. I'm trying to dig back in the fog of my memory, but almost all the Bakelite I have handled, other than in small pieces of jewelry, has been rendered worthless by breakage.
As most of you know, I am more of a TAD person than a pipe person, so I am actually hoping for an answer, not just casting negative aspersions on an innocent piece of black somethingorother

Bruce uses a heat gun, and told me when I commissioned the pipe that it could not be a full bend, or the stem would likely break. I work for a company that uses polymerized formaldehyde, and it does not smell good when heated, or burned.

As I know nothing about Bakelite, I like this thread.

Why would anyone want to suck on something that is highly toxic and brittle?

Heat gun!
So....that's how they bend it. Bet the guys who bend Bakelite stems must say a few Hail Marys when they are about to change the shape of a hand-cut bit......this stuff snaps like uncooked spaghetti when flexed just a hair too much. Also wonder if it needs to be stress-relieved after bending....to eliminate the possibility of future stress-cracking at the bends?
Yes Micarta and other phenolics are still being manufactured. Mostly used in industrial applications, and guys who make custom knives use it as handle material. Designers and makers of "vintage" Art Deco jewelry also use a variety of colored, surplus, Bakelite rods and flats. All interesting... It's nice stuff to work with if its limitations are kept in mind. I would use small pieces for accents, or, as rings... to separate one material from the next, etc.
I learned from this thread. Thanks far all the info.
Frank

Bakelite is not toxic to the user. The risks are in the working of it. Personally I love the old cherry bakelite stems.

Why would anyone want to suck on something that is highly toxic

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Like tobacco smoke?

Here's a link to Vermont Freehand/Pimo's page on bakelite stem blanks.

http://vermontfreehand.com/product/bakelite-stems/

Acrylic stems are a good alternative to bakelite. Like vulcanite, ebonite and Cumberland (well, that`s pretty much the same family of material), there is good quality and less good quality.

Good quality acrylic stems are as comfortable as ebonite, in my experience.

The overall quality of the pipe you will purchase will determine the comfort level of your stem.

@ chasingemders- that's one sexy pipe you got there.